This article is part of our PGA Tour Stats Review series.
The collective exhale that is the week after the Masters is this week's RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, the first major sporting event back on the island after Hurricane Matthew. Although there was damage and some loss of trees, there was minimal direct impact on the golf course and tournament play itself, which means that the Harbour Town Golf Links Pete Dye design you've come to recognize – and where accuracy is a premium – will stay the same. Here's our stats thread.
Driving Accuracy
You have to hit fairways at Hilton Head or you'll be blocked out and not have the right angles to hit the greens. Yes the greens are small, but the focus must be on your tee shots, not the greens. You can make up for a bad approach shot; you can't for a bad tee shot. Here are the driving accuracy leaders in the field this week:
Brian Stuard - 74.09 percent
Francesco Molinari - 72.90
Martin Kaymer - 72.14
Jim Furyk - 71.92
William McGirt - 71.40
Our recommendations this week are Molinari and Furyk. Yes, McGirt contended for a while last week, and if you believe in positive vibes you can pick him, but I believe the more reliable picks are Molinari and Furyk.
Molinari has had a sneaky good season, finishing T12 at the CareerBuilder, T14 at Torrey Pines, T14 at Honda, T20 in Mexico and T7 at Bay Hill in 2017 alone. He finished T33 at Augusta and ranks second in
The collective exhale that is the week after the Masters is this week's RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, the first major sporting event back on the island after Hurricane Matthew. Although there was damage and some loss of trees, there was minimal direct impact on the golf course and tournament play itself, which means that the Harbour Town Golf Links Pete Dye design you've come to recognize – and where accuracy is a premium – will stay the same. Here's our stats thread.
Driving Accuracy
You have to hit fairways at Hilton Head or you'll be blocked out and not have the right angles to hit the greens. Yes the greens are small, but the focus must be on your tee shots, not the greens. You can make up for a bad approach shot; you can't for a bad tee shot. Here are the driving accuracy leaders in the field this week:
Brian Stuard - 74.09 percent
Francesco Molinari - 72.90
Martin Kaymer - 72.14
Jim Furyk - 71.92
William McGirt - 71.40
Our recommendations this week are Molinari and Furyk. Yes, McGirt contended for a while last week, and if you believe in positive vibes you can pick him, but I believe the more reliable picks are Molinari and Furyk.
Molinari has had a sneaky good season, finishing T12 at the CareerBuilder, T14 at Torrey Pines, T14 at Honda, T20 in Mexico and T7 at Bay Hill in 2017 alone. He finished T33 at Augusta and ranks second in driving accuracy, sixth in strokes gained-approach to the green. He's a good, solid safe pick for this week.
Furyk has won here before, is comfortable here, and obviously, being super accurate, has the game to fit this course. He doesn't have the finishes yet in his step-by-step return from wrist surgery – his best in 2017 is a T30 at the Match Play – but he's 16th in putting and 58th in scoring average, and for those who don't want to go out on a huge limb, he's a nice pick for this week.
The Field
The field includes Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker, defending champion Branden Grace, Danny Willett, Tyrrell Hatton, Adam Hadwin, a bunch of the RBC-sponsored players, Russell Henley, Furyk, Keegan Bradley, Wesley Bryan, McGirt, Sam Saunders and Graeme McDowell.
My picks this week are Kuchar, who is my pick to win and whom I highly recommend for a one-and-done league, and Henley.
Kuchar tied for fourth last week at the Masters, an epic backdoor top-5 aided by the ace at 16, and won this event in 2014. He's been on a bit of a cold streak since that W but the game is coming around and he's a great fit for this venue, as he hit nearly 68 percent of fairways, 63 percent of greens and was 10th in putting for the week in Augusta. Yes, a Sunday 67 shot him up the leaderboard after a poor start, but coming to a comfortable venue, I like him this week.
Henley, meanwhile, tied for 11th, shot 71-69 over the weekend, earned a return trip back to Augusta, with the fact that he only got in the previous Sunday after winning Houston all the more impressive. For the week he ranked 12th in putting, and for the season on the PGA Tour he ranks 20th in greens hit, sixth in strokes gained-putting and 32nd in strokes gained-tee to green. He's a solid, safe pick for this week.
The Weather
The weather will be spectacular with sunny skies, temperatures in the mid-70s and a bit of a breeze, though it will be less pronounced on much of the course which is shielded by trees.
